It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Camp Kreitzer

Our first Christmas with the new front porch gave us extra opportunities for welcoming visitors!

For some reason, I'm not sure why, I have been going all out this year with the decorations. Perhaps it's because I was feeling down in the dumps and grinchy after Thanksgiving and needed to "light"en things up. So every day I've been adding to the decorations.


We have so many strings of lights that I'm giving some away to our kids, but yesterday as I boxed them up and tagged them for a son and daughter I pulled out a long string of icicle lights to put over the windows in the living room and a long string of colored lights to add to the already festive family room where the creche and the Christmas tree welcome visitors.

We may not rival the White House decorations, but the "Blue House" is home and ready to welcome family. And what a joy to realize that every inch of Camp Kreitzer will be filled with family over the holidays since our Texas and Pittsburgh children will be here along with the locals. Goodness, after doing the addition, we realized there will be 37 of us here for at least a day or two with 23 sleeping over at the Kreitzer B & B. Well, that's why we bought the "family retreat center" instead of the retirement cottage when we moved out here to the Shenandoah Valley in 2002.

So welcome to Christmas at Camp Kreitzer and enjoy the tour.

Welcome all who enter here!

The greeters in the front hall

These are actually wine bottle gift boxes. Do you have something 

you can re-purpose to add to your Christmas decorations? How

about an extra angel tree topper? I put mine in an upstairs bedroom.

I love my living room. It's our chapel with lots of religious picture, icons, and

a prayer spot; but it also serves as a spare bedroom when we have a houseful

which we will when our son and his family arrive from Texas. His seven children

ranging in ages from 21 to almost one will definitely keep things lively.

The light in my doll cupboard always lends a cheerful warmth. And I love the

circle afghans on my couches that remind me of my Aunt Dorothy who made them.  

What a special person she was always tucking a crocheted ornament and memory in

her Christmas card. They remind me to pray for her.

The ceramic Precious Moments Nativity has always been a favorite with the children. I let

them play with it when I can supervise. There is nothing like hands on 

activities to teach the Christmas story.

The living room is filled with nativity sets. I found this Holy Family group at a 

Williamsburg gift shop after Christmas. And the two ole folks came from a thrift shop.

You can never forget that "Jesus is the reason for the season!" at Camp Kreitzer.

My "newest" nativity came from combining Mary and Joseph (found at our parish thrift store) 

with a little china baby from my doll collection tucked into a basket

We picked this nativity up at a thrift store for a couple of dollars. It took me two years 

to notice that one of the kings was missing a hand and Jesus is missing a hand and a foot.

No one will ever accuse me of being very observant! But their condition just says to me that

 they were probably well loved by a child. They will continue to be well loved at Camp Kreitzer!

The dining room is still wearing its Advent colors with a hint of Christmas in the

rose napkin rings. They make me think of the carol, Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming.

TO BE CONTINUED....